Rumors have been running rampant on various gaming forums of late concerning the emergence of ilovebees2.com, which popped up on our radar sometime last month. While speculation about what the site might be connected to is a hot topic at the UnFiction forums, we have information from a source that the campaign is not connected or related to 4orty 2wo Entertainment, the company behind the original I Love Bees game. As well, Bungie has offically denied any involvement with the web site (3rd paragraph of link). Current speculation points to a fan-based game related to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which ships on March 20th, as much of the content is related to the Elder Scrolls universe.

We first heard about the possibility of a second ILB (fan-created or not) from an AIM conversation brought to our attention by PatRol, who manages German-language ARG news site ARGR. An email received shortly thereafter contained spoofed headers that led to Margaret Effendi, a character from ILB. Within days the ilovebees2.com website had been found, and from there, the site has evolved to include log-in puzzles and mysterious graphics. Again, nothing involved with the website seems to tie in with the Halo universe, so it is unclear why that particular domain was used for this project, other than for its notoriety and familiarity.

Various media outlets, including IGN, have reported on the web site so far, and there is an active audience taking part in unravelling the mystery. Whatever the intention of the web site is, it has succeeded in generating a respectable amount of buzz in a short amount of time. Alternate Reality Game or not, we’ll wait along with the rest of you to see what, if anything, develops from the site.